When I had asked, "Why must so many descriptions of cask ale be couched in negative —if gentle— terms?", he replied:

All good points. I tend to use the slightly disparaging terms to challenge people: the overlap between DCist's audience and people who would normally attend the real ale fest is insignificant. If I can make our readers think about beer as something other than liters to be chugged, then that's my goal. As someone who sells cask ale day-in, day-out, I know that couching it in terms that the average drinker can understand is like walking a tightrope.